I read a Nerd Fitness article about rest day and I want to share this with you.
Training program
In each training program, there is at least one rest day. During your training, you make micro breaks in your muscles and it takes around 24-48 hours to repair. There are no mental or physical benefits of training non-stop. We don’t want to destroy our muscles without giving them a chance to become stronger.
What we’re supposed to do during the rest days ?
It’s coming, it’s coming.
Plan your rest days
The problem with most people is that they use rest day as a « cheat day ». Because it’s a day without training, they don’t think to stay physically fit and do anything.
THIS IS NOT GOOD !
Remember that training only corresponds to 20% and food 80% of the equation to have a good physical condition.
Program your rest days as your program your training days. This isn’t a day off like at school or at work, it’s a rest day.
Program activities in your rest day like stretching or prepare all the meals for the week.
My rest day is cardio and stretching.
Stretching
After a training day, our muscles have micro breaks and are very tight during weight lifting. For this reason stretching is great to do during rest day to work on your flexibility and your mobility. It’s a good idea to have a strong body but if you can’t move your body correctly to use it well, all this is useless.
A fun activity
Genetically we’re designed to move, we aren’t designed to sit more than 60 hours per week. This means that during our rest days, we have to work on our happiness and stay active simultaneously.
A fun activity can be different for each person :
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Ride a bike
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Jogging
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Play football / basketball
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Swim
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Go hiking
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Rock climbing
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Learn a martial art like Taekwondo, Kung fu or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
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Take a dance class
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Try Live Action Role-Playing
No matter what it is, do an activity you like to do, an activity that makes you smile. The only important thing is to do an activity that moves your body and it doesn’t need to be an exhausting activity.
Yoga or Tai Chi
These two activities are a perfect complement to your training. Training makes you stronger but it makes stiff our muscles too.
Yoga or Tai Chi lengthens our muscle and our tendons, aids in their recovery and helps our body to develop a better mobility and flexibility.
Now with YouTube, you can find videos about stretching and Yoga or Tai Chi but maybe you prefer to subscribe to a class, it’s up to you.
Stay focus on your goal even a day without training.
What is your rest day program ?
-Steph
PS: Do you want a free training program? Click